Doctor Druid may be a student of the mystic arts, but that doesn’t mean that he walks a righteous path. This week on Marvel 101, follow the descent of Doctor Druid through life, death, and the afterlife.

Soul Searching: Part Two

Prep for Infinity Countdown by reviewing the history of Adam Warlock!

by Steffi Feldman

3…2…1…

Infinity Countdown begins with Adam Warlock.

A man shaped by his relationship with the enigmatic Soul Stone, the cosmic hero has returned from beyond to the land of the living. His long and difficult history with the Stone now leads him to investigate just how the Infinity relic has changed him throughout the years. Tomorrow, February 7, witness Adam Warlock’s past, present—and maybe even his future—in writer Gerry Duggan and artist Mike Allred’s INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK #1!

Adam has gone by many different identities over the years, and his journey has included time loops, alternate universes, and an archenemy that he sees whenever he looks into a mirror. It all adds up to quite a complex history for the hero, so before you see how he impacts the future of the Marvel Universe, read part one of our look at the adventures ofAdam Warlock before diving into part two here.

Guardian of the Galaxy: After recovering his lost Soul Stone, Adam used it to unlock his full potential to defeat Ultron during the Annihilation Wave. Soon after, the group of cosmic allies that Warlock joined forces with during the battle would soon take a new name: the Guardians of the Galaxy.

This newly minted super team then took up the mission of protecting the damaged universe from invasion, patching up tears that the war left in the fabric of reality. Later, Warlock’s dark Magus persona took hold of him again, and in a moment of lucidity during his fight against the alter-ego, he begged Star-Lord and Captain Marvel to kill him, requesting that he—and the universe—be spared the horrors of the Magus.

Adam Warlock (Earth-19141)/Living Tribunal: During the events of THANOS: INFINITY REVELATION, Death tasked her devotee Thanos with returning a single deserving soul back to the land of the living. The soul, of course, belonged to Adam Warlock. The resulting alternate universe (called Earth-19141) eventually merged with Earth-616, causing that Adam to be replaced by his newly created counterpart. This version of Adam Warlock possessed the power of Eternity and Infinity, and due to his immense power, was considered a potential threat to the central universe.

The potential energy of this threat soon became kinetic, when the Earth-19141 Warlock got knocked out and unconsciously destroyed the universe. When he woke up, floating alone in an endless void, he pleaded with the One Above All to undo his disastrous mistake. This proposition was accepted by the One Above All on one condition: that this Adam Warlock take up the mantle of The Living Tribunal. The Warlock accepted, becoming the primordial cosmic figure and resurrecting the Earth-616 Warlock.

This newly resurrected Adam Warlock then journeyed with his close ally Pip, disappearing until he reappears tomorrow, on February 7, in INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK #1.

Who is Adam Warlock?

Adam Warlock is a wandering soul. The sometimes god, sometimes artificial human, sometimes Soul Stone entity has been resurrected so many times by his Infinity Stone that he’s been fragmented beyond repair, having lost elements of himself to the mysterious Soulworld forever. In a constant battle against the influences that try to warp his nature into something destructive and cruel, Warlock struggles against the Magus—the madness, the lure of power—in the name of good.